#graduation #graduationseason #commencementspeeches #wordsofwisdom
Patricia Murphy loves commencement addresses, she says.
But, as she points out, giving life-changing advice to 1,000 people when they just want their diplomas or degrees is no easy task.
How many people do you know who may have fallen asleep during a commencement address?
Murphy, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Political Insider columnist, tackled the topic of how politicians use the commencement address in her May 23, 2021, column.
After a year of cancelled events, Murphy says, Georgia leaders had plenty of advice to give graduates.
U.S. Sen Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., told Savannah State University grads: “Have a mountain? Just climb it. A river? Just cross it. A dream? Just chase it. A vision? Just pursue it. An idea? Just do it. A bad habit? Just break it,” according to Murphy.
Warnock’s speech was just one example Murphy used to illustrate the speeches during this season.
Commencement speeches are supposed to inspire. Do you remember the great advice the speaker gave you and your classmates at your graduation ?
Mostly, graduates want their degrees. They want to get the formalities over with, so they can get comfortable and party. After all, it’s generally pretty warm on graduation day, and staying dressed up is a drag.
Then, if they don’t continue their education at the next level, they just want to go to work. They want to find work that pays decently and, if they get lucky, provides benefits.
Today, that promise is much more elusive than it was decades ago.
Most people who start at Job X likely won’t stay at Job X for their entire working life. Some will choose to change jobs. Others will have their jobs changed. Still others will lose their jobs through no fault of their own.
It’s been said that the only sure thing is change. That may be the best advice graduates get this season.
Some change is good. Some, not so good. One personally cannot stop change, particularly in the workplace, but one can figure out how best to deal with change.
If you graduate this year and take a job, you’d be wise to set up a Plan B, as you will inevitably face change in your workplace – in some cases, frequent change.
There are many programs out there that enable people to earn potentially lucrative income with just a few, part-time, off-work hours a week.
There are no education, experience or background requirements to take advantage of them. The main requirements are an open mind, the ability to be coached and the desire to take advantage of what you have your hands on.
To learn about one of the best such programs, message me.
Meanwhile, if you are graduating this year, congratulations. Perhaps you’ll get a nugget of wisdom from your commencement speaker. Regardless, don’t hesitate to dream. Don’t hesitate to go after what you want. And, beware the many changes you will see as you go after it. You’ll likely find the path to what you want will not be straight and/or free of obstacles.
Above all, stay optimistic. Learn to deal with adversity. Remain honest with yourself and others. Do what you want with the intention of helping not just yourself, but others along the way.
Peter
Tag Archives: graduation
GLAD GRADS: PART 2
#GladGrads #graduations #LifeAfterGraduation #graduation #CollegeGraduation
Last week, we talked about different graduates on different missions, as we celebrate the season of degrees.
Sue Shellenbarger, who writes a Work and Family column for The Wall Street Journal, suggests six “new rules” for post-college employment searches.
In her May 7, 2019, column she cites the example of Kyle Gilchrist, 23, who graduated from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga., last December with a degree in political science. He had good grades, good debate skills and served an internship with a U.S. congressman.
He found his job options limited because he didn’t have work experience.
That brings us to Shellenbarger’s first suggestion: get work experience before graduating. Her second suggestion: start building a job search network early. Thirdly, acquire technical, analytical and interpersonal skills that may not be taught in the college courses you take. Fourthly, don’t over-rely on online job boards, which harkens back to building a job search network early. Networking involves people and personal contact, not Web sites.
Her fifth suggestion is to build a robust LinkedIn profile. Many experts believe that the conventional way to apply for a job – having a resume and knocking on doors, will eventually be surpassed as employers search sites like LinkedIn for the people they want.
Lastly, she suggests seeking out other adult mentors for advice. Those may be parents, teachers or others in your social circle who have the wisdom to guide you.
“Nearly 2 million students will emerge from U.S. colleges with bachelor’s degrees this year. Many will enter a job market their parents barely recognize,” Shellenbarger writes.
Though the labor market is tight, competition is fierce, she says.
Some grads will have more marketable degrees than others. Some will have more school debt than others.
Not only is getting a job hard for some, but also the job(s) they are offered don’t pay close to what they need to make a living, let alone pay off debt.
Like acorns, jobs may be plentiful, but hardly, in many cases, provide the nourishment and good taste humans want and need. As you think of acorns, also think of the squirrel running inside a wheel. Many jobs will feel like that to you – a lot of energy expended and very little, if any, progress to show for it.
If you find yourself in that situation, don’t worry. There are many vehicles out there that can produce a potentially lucrative income, starting with a few, part-time hours a week. The only requirement is an openness to look at them, and a willingness to do what it takes to succeed at them. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Remember, a college degree is helpful in landing a job, but doesn’t guarantee you one. You may decide that the degree you got, though enlightening in its pursuit, can’t always bring big bucks into your life. You may have to decide that pursuing your passion may require an ancillary pursuit of other income.
Again, be glad to graduate. Know that getting a good job won’t necessarily be easy. Still, work hard, dream big and be open to other helpful solutions.
Your circumstances don’t define you. How you deal with them does.
Peter
GLAD GRADS: PART 1
#GladGrads #graduations #LifeAfterGraduation #graduation #CollegeGraduation
It’s the time of year to celebrate graduations.
The grads will come in all ages, ambitions and desires.
For example, Teresa Eckart was a prosecutor and judge, who wasn’t doing what she loved. So, she went back to Kennesaw State University in Georgia to become a ballet teacher at age 59.
Hers and the profiles of other graduates were part of a package of articles in the May 5, 2019, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Another profiled grad is Marc Anthony Branch, 27, who leaves the day after his graduation from Emory University in Atlanta for Cambodia, where he will do urban development programming and assessments work with Habitat for Humanity.
Antoinette Charles, 20, will take her passion for helping the homeless with her when she graduates from Georgia State University, where she participated in the student organization Pads for Princesses, which assisted the homeless.
Meanwhile, Haley Evans, 21, learned to push herself at Oglethorpe University outside of Atlanta, and wound up studying abroad in Ecuador. She was able to use social media to successfully win a leadership spot on the student government organization at Oglethorpe while in Ecuador. She plans to teach in early childhood education.
Trayvon Truss, 22, was a self-described social outcast who battled depression. He was homeless much of his childhood. He also had dyslexia and was bullied. Now, he’ll earn his degree in psychology from Morehouse College in Atlanta.
Regardless of the path one takes, graduating college is a big step. Many will come out of college with degrees that won’t always yield the kind of results in the job market that they want. That’s OK for some, but for others, particularly if they are graduating with a lot of debt, that situation will present difficulties.
If that describes you, or if your passion doesn’t yield profitability, don’t fret. You can still pursue your passion, pay down your debt comfortably and live a very good life by devoting a few, part-time hours a week to one of the many vehicles out there that can create a potentially lucrative income for you. To learn about one of the best such vehicles, message me.
It’s a relief, which you may or may not yet feel, to be done with school. Think of it as a step toward what comes next in your life.
You may not yet know what that will be. Or, you may have something in mind that may or may not pan out for you.
The grads featured in the profiles all made decisions, pushed themselves and fulfilled at least some of their dreams.
Some grads tend to focus on the practical, rather than their dreams. It’s certainly OK to want to make a good living, and not have to live at home with mom and dad forever. It’s good to want a house, marriage, children etc. in your future.
Yes, some practical thinking is in order. But always have your eyes, and your mind, on something bigger.
You can get there sooner, or you can get there later. It all depends on whether you are willing to look at something you may not have considered doing before, and whether you have the ambition to do whatever it takes to get what you want.
Be glad, grads, that you’ve taken that step. Be wary of what’s out there, but also open to new things. Skepticism can be good. Cynicism never is.
Peter